Charter Schools and Maori

Charter schools: at best the evidence is mixed, at worst the evidence is an indictment against the idea. There is no compelling evidence in clear support of the idea – or at least I’m not aware of anyone who has produced or pointed to any compelling evidence.

Over the past 48 hours a lot of has been written on charter schools, most of it rightly rubbishes the idea, but we haven’t seen anything from a Maori perspective. With that in mind, I’ll give an outline of the idea from a Maori perspective.

On first principle, the charter schools idea is attractive. Allowing iwi to take control of education in their rohe (area) satisfies the very foundation of tino rangatiratanga – the right of Maori to control things Maori. Any idea that will advance tino rangatiratanga is certainly welcome. The idea also fits nicely with the partnership principle i.e. the government funds education while Maori deliver it.

On a cynical level, the charter schools could, hypothetically speaking, mean profit. If the corporate arm of iwi, as opposed to say the social services arm, took responsibility for iwi charter schools then the motive would be profit. Controlling education would be another step in iwi’s desire for more control over New Zealand, especially in strategic areas. The iwi leaders are currently transfixed with delving into strategic resources and companies like geothermal power and Air New Zealand, but control over education is probably a far more potent area. Iwi could, hypothetically and cynically speaking of course, shape how their students see the world.

On a brighter note, iwi would be attracted to the idea as a means of reviving Maori culture. If our charter model is anything like the overseas models iwi would have the power to set the curriculum. Iwi could include subjects like rongoa (broadly speaking Maori medicine) or set up traditional wananga. This probably ties in to the principle of active protection i.e. the government, in allowing iwi to set such a curriculum, is taking active steps to protect Maori culture.

It’s a gamble though, allowing iwi anywhere near education. Iwi certainly have no experience in delivering education and I doubt there are many overseas models to draw on. Having said that, the kura kaupapa model is a good place to start. However, in my opinion kura kaupapa, although successful overall, are still suffering from teething problems. I don’t think it would be sensible for Iwi to deliver Maori language medium schools only too. Young Maori need to be prepared to enter the Pakeha world. This necessitates an element of mainstream education in whatever model iwi adopt.

I tentatively support the idea of iwi having some power over Maori education. This doesn’t mean I support the charter school model. In fact, I strongly oppose charter schools. I think it’s unfair that the overwhelmingly Maori populations in South Auckland and Christchurch East, along with the non-Maori population too, be subject to a trial of what is, at worst, a failed model. Surely John Banks should use his people in Epsom as guinea pigs for his pet idea. When the trial fails, or is repealed as soon as Labour gets in, New Zealand is going to have a subset of failed young people. I don’t think Act and National can see that there is a connection between poor policy and results in real world. Anyway, as above the idea of iwi control over Maori education is decent and if the charter idea goes ahead I’d support iwi involvement.     

Act aren't coming back

There are so many things going on in Maori politics at the moment and I don’t really know where to start. John Ansell and his mates are attacking Maori (and Pakeha too), Tariana Turia has ruled out supporting a capital gains tax, Pem Bird has confirmed there will be no deal between the Maori Party and the Mana Party and the latest Horizon poll puts the Mana Party ahead of the Maori Party while the TV3 poll puts Mana one point behind the Maori Party. In this post I’ll deal with Act and over the next few days I will cover the other issues.

I’ll start with John Ansell and Act. Over the past few days the Party, but mainly Ansell and Brash, have drunkenly stumbled from one disaster to the next. For the complete run down see this post from Danyl at the Dim-Post. The brief picture is this: on Friday Act placed an ad in the NZ Herald admonishing the apparent pandering to Maori radicals. Brash later released an emotive press release defending the content of the ad. John Ansell then took to the Kiwiblog comments section and let rip against Maori, the Maori Party and the National Party among others. The Act party finally responded asking Ansell to step down as “creative director”.

This whole saga has revealed, or perhaps reinforced, the idea that the Act party is merely a collection of fringe lunatics. The party’s slow descent from libertarianism to populist paranoia is now complete. The Act Party are so singular in their worldview, so confident in their assumptions and so nasty in their beliefs that they are now political poison - a sinking ship. I, along with Irishbill and a plethora of other commentators, am now predicting the Act Party funeral will occur on November 26. A significant number of New Zealanders respond to the silly idea that Maori enjoy more rights than non-Maori, but most New Zealanders do not respond to the dirty extremism and fantasies that the Act Party espouses. Few New Zealanders will complain about the “Maorification of everything”. I have yet to come across a non-Maori who does not enjoy and support Maori language week. Maori language week enjoys near universal support in fact. I have yet to come across a non-Maori that ridicules the use of Maori culture on the sports field, in schools and, indeed, across society. Most New Zealanders see such complaints for what they are – rabid hate.

Act has adopted the ‘them and us’ mindset. The same mindset that so often sinks aspirations for tino rangatiratanga. Act has become so warped, so engrossed in their own bullshit that they are beginning to believe racism has appeal. Racism is a dirty word and when you find yourself, like Don Brash, having to claim that you are, in fact, not racist then something has gone wrong.

The response from Maori has been pleasing. Most Maori realise that Brash and Act are irrelevant and no threat to tino rangatiratanga. When people ask me what I think I respond with meh. What Brash, Ansell and Act do is of no consequence to Maori. They wield no power. Pita Sharple's open letter to Brash was, in my opinion, good. He refrained from playing Don’s filthy game and kept the tone civil, the language fairly neutral and focus positive. Some have said Sharples did not go far enough, but I tend to think that an attack would have resulted in more harm than good. The Maori Party need to be seen as the reasonable side in this debate. Let Brash and Act shoot themselves in the foot. Hone has also kept his response fairly civil saying that Brash has no place in politics. And this is, undoubtedly, true. Brash and his cohort of nutters belong nowhere near government. 

It does bring into question whether the Maori Party can, as a matter of principle, remain a part of government with a pack of racists. From what I can gauge most Maori would say no, but I would disagree. Pita Sharples rationalises the Maori Party’s commitment to the coalition by stating that he would rather be at the table opposing the lunacy Act pushes than outside blubbering away without influence. This is, I think, a sensible position to take. The Maori Party play an important role as a sort of counter-weight.

One thing I find amusing is just how sloppy Act have been. The ad the party placed in the Herald was rubbish. As an aside full credit to the Dom Post for refusing to publish the ad. Again, Danyl at the Dim-Post provides the authorative comments on why the ad is rubbish and I will not repeat his points. However, I will offer some points of my own. Firstly, the ad is visual chaos – almost gimmicky. The language used is also awful. Overly emotive in my opinion. The reader is bombarded with images, feelings and information and as a result no clear message prevails. The reader is lost in a sea of hyperbole and competing influences. Hyperbolic abuse is never effective. The reader begins to see past the alarming language and message and instead will begin to see the ad for what it really is – naked race baiting.

Another sloppy play was allowing John Ansell, and disgraced former MP David Garret when he was in Parliament, to run wild on Kiwiblog. Any political party with even a pinch of good sense does not let its senior staffers, and MP’s, post fantasy on political blogs. Such behaviour invites controversy.   

The Act Party are dead. And this is good for Maori. One less barrier to positive progress. Act are making Hone Harawira look moderate as well. This can only be a good thing. I will take great pleasure in watching Act sink even further. I do not think any party could recover from the sort of scandals that have, and continue, to rock Act. Goodbye, Act. 

For excellent commentary see this post from Lew at Kiwipolitico.

What Brash means for the Maori Party

Rodney Hide has announced his resignation as leader of the Act Party and cleared the way for Don Brash to assume the leadership. Hide will remain as a minister.

I can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for Hide. He has been embarrassed, degraded, assaulted and ultimately destroyed in a very, very public spectacle. But we are dealing with Don Brash here – the most morally bankrupt man in New Zealand politics so it’s hardly surprising is it? Perhaps what is most interesting, for me at least, is who is behind all of this. The Hollow Men showed that Brash was a mere puppet who was easily manipulated and led by a few puppet masters. But who is the puppet master(s) now?

But anyway, that is a side issue. In this post I want to discuss what a Brash led Act Party means for the Maori Party.

Most commentators seem to agree that Brash will increase the Act Party’s declining political stocks. Some also believe Brash will deliver much needed stability. So what does a resurgent and stable Act Party mean for the Maori Party?... It means the Maori Party will become irrelevant.

At the moment the Maori Party is expendable – the party can be disregarded without affecting the ability of the National government to command the confidence of the House. However, the Maori Party is viewed as the National Party’s best shot at a long term coalition partner. The Maori Party has a secure grip on two seats (Te Tai Hauauru and Waiariki), a somewhat firm grip on one seat (Tamaki Makaurau), a marginal grip on one seat (Te Tai Tonga) and the ability to run hard in the other two Maori seats.  This means the party is almost guaranteed to return, at the very least, two MP’s. The party was, prior to the Hone Harawira saga, stable as well.

On the other hand Act was seen as incredibly unstable. The party was rocked by a number of personal controversies and policy blunders, for example the Supercity legislation. Act did not enjoy a secure grip on an electorate seat either and most commentators believed the party would not breach the 5% threshold. Combine this and the prospects of Act remaining in Parliament were slim.

It was prudent of the National Party to regard the Maori Party as the best medium to long term coalition partner. As far as coalition partners go, the National Party do not have many to choose from. The Prime Minister ruled out working with Winston Peters, United Future will probably not grow and Peter Dunne will not be around in two terms time and Act is, or at least was, knocking on deaths door. The chances of a new right party forming also looked incredibly slim. In practical terms this left only the Maori Party. Ideologically speaking the Maori Party had the ability to gel with the National Party and the Maori party’s leaders, Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples, are a conservative and pragmatist respectively. This fitted well with National’s inherent conservatism and John Key’s brand of pragmatism. The Maori Party is neither left nor right and can be used, depending on circumstance, to pass right wing or left wing legislation as well. It’s a perfect fit for a government trying to play the game both ways i.e. left and right.

However, the Act Party appears to have changed trajectory. Most analysts accept the party will rise again. Remember Brash was responsible for the National Party’s huge rise post 2002. His rhetoric surrounding social issues appealed to a huge number of New Zealanders and it is difficult to see why the same formula will not work today in the wake of the MCA act controversy. So with Act on the comeback trail the Maori Party suddenly becomes redundant.

Act is the National Party’s natural ally. In cohort with Act the Nats can continue to occupy the centre. The centre is where major parties aim to be and under a Maori Party/National Party arrangement the Nats would be busy attempting to occupy the right given the Maori Party’s more natural tendency to reside on the left. Ultimately, the Nat’s would be busy trying to cover vast ideological ground in the absence of a coalition partner firmly classed on the right. However, with Act the Nats do not have to worry so much about nursing to the right and the party can focus on retaining the centre. Act would also be more willing to pass some of the more populist legislation that could be defined as anti-Maori, for example welfare attacks.

So with Brash at the helm of Act we can reasonably assume the party will see an increase in support. This makes the Maori Party expendable in the long term.

Another effect that a Brash led Act party will have is that it will probably kill the National/Act/Maori arrangement. Brash is a notorious racist and probably the most hated man in the Maori world. It is also impossible to reconcile Brash’s public stance in regards to Maori with Maori Party policy and values. I would expect Maori Party supporters to firmly oppose Brash and his prescription for Maori. Brash is a libertarian. Individualism and the supremacy of the individual underpin libertarian philosophy. Whereas the Maori Party stands for, or at least claims to stand for, tino rangatiratanga. Tino rangatiratanga is built upon the notion of the collective. Collective responsibility, collective rights and so on. The two are wildly incompatible.

Essentially, Brash does not believe in the concept of race. It logically follows that he cannot work with a party predicated on the notion of race and rights by virtue of race. Also, in a personal capacity, how can Maori Party MP’s work with a man who has done more damage to the reputation and standing of their people than any other politician in the last two decades. Brash is an open and shameless racist.

Brash will push for positions that are anathema to Maori. It is just impossible that the Maori Party could sit by in coalition with a man delivering racist rubbish. Maori will not stand for another repeat of Orewa.

To sum up (I’ve kinda forgot where I was going with this) a resurgent and stable Act party means the Maori Party will become expendable in the long term. If Act is looking like a future prospect then there is no need for the Maori Party in the National Party’s calculations. Furthermore, the Maori Party will not work with Brash – a dishonourable and tarnished racist. The Party is just too dissimilar. For this country’s sake, I hope Brash does not come within one hundred kilometres of government. For once I agree with Winston Peters:

"A John Key-Don Brash coalition would asset strip the country, keep wages low and attack superannuation."

Kia ora.

On Hone Harawira's new party (again)

We all know Hone Harawira is a Maori nationalist. However, as I have said on numerous occasions, this does not preclude the possibility that Hone will form a broad left wing party. Although tino rangatiratanga is not entirely compatible with the notions and values of social democracy, it is not impossible to reconcile the two. For a more in depth discussion on why I think Hone will form a broad left wing party, as opposed to an alternative Maori party, see this post.

In this post I want to draw your attention to comments made by Annette Sykes:

Rotorua Maori lawyer Annette Sykes says Pakeha should have a major part to play in any new political party set up dissident MP Home Harawira.

She says the Maori and Pakeha heros that have emerged during the Christchurch quake are indicative of a new New Zealand that any new Maori political movement must incorporate.

This indicates, to me at least, that Annette, and surely by extension Hone, realise that an alternative Maori party is impractical. Annette knows that the numbers do not exist to support the Maori Party, an alternative Maori party, the Greens and of course Labour. Any new party will need to broaden its appeal. Matt McCarten, one of Hone’s advisors, also knows that an alternative Maori party will not work and any new party will require some amount of working class appeal and a focus on beneficiaries, both Maori and Pakeha.

The only circumstance in which an alternative Maori party makes any political sense is if the end goal is to destroy the current Maori Party. I feel that this is unlikely. Having said that Annette has given a soft indication that she may run against Te Ururoa in Waiariki. If she does, and she has not ruled it out, then I think it is safe to assume the end goal is to destroy the Maori Party. This would be terribly unwise. For all of their sins the Maori Party occupies a brilliant strategic niche and, in likelihood, will be in an incredibly strong position post-election.

Hone must realise that destroying the Maori Party also opens the door for the Nat’s to launch a full frontal attack on all things Maori. At the moment the Maori Party is a moderating force on the Nats. The Nats know that they cannot attack things Maori without backlash from their most reliable long-term coalition partner. With Act on its last legs and Dunne looking shaky in Ohariu the Nats realise that the Maori Party is their best shot in terms of governing into the future, therefore the party must be kept on side.  

Ultimately, I think Hone will form a new left party rather than an alternative Maori party. Consider what Matt McCarten has this to say:

If there was a contest I think Tariana Turia and Hone would be the only ones left standing. I think it would be a tragedy for Maori.

Matt knows and would have informed Hone that the only benefactors of an alternative Maori Party will be Labour. In Hone were to stand candidates in the other Maori electorates then Labour would storm home. It would be an epic strategic blunder.

The animosity between Hone and his former colleagues should not be underestimated. But ultimately both sides need to realise that politics is bigger than their egos.